On vegetation clustering, localized bare soil spots and fairy circles

Abstract

We present a model and nonlinear analysis which account for the clustering behaviors of arid vegetation ecosystems, the formation of localized bare soil spots (sometimes also called fairy circles) in these systems and the attractive or repulsive interactions governing their spatio-temporal evolution. Numerical solutions of the model closely agree with analytical predictions. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.